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The Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, the military's highest court, has overturned the murder conviction of a U.S. Marine who was accused of war crimes during the Iraq war. The court ruled that the conviction of Sgt. Lawrence Hutchins III could not stand because the sergeant's constitutional rights were violated during his interrogation in 2006.

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Sgt. Shane Ortega, an Army helicopter crew chief, became the first active service member considered to be openly transgender after The Washington Post published a profile of him on Thursday. Ortega, who identifies as male, is still listed as female in the military's official computer system. "As I fight for my country in foreign lands, all I want is to be able to serve openly while keeping the job that I love," said Ortega, who hopes that serving visibly will force the Pentagon to revisit its ban on openly transgender service members.

Active-duty and retired LGBT service members and allies organized a Veterans Day wreath-laying ceremony at Washington's Congressional Cemetery. The ceremony took place at the grave of Air Force Sgt. Leonard Matlovich, who in 1975 challenged the military's ban on gay service members. "It's a privilege to gather here with fellow service members to honor one of our own," Lt. Col. Todd Burton of the Army National Guard said.

U.S. military officials have expressed misgivings about a White House plan to strike Syria. "There's a broad naivete in the political class about America's obligations in foreign policy issues, and scary simplicity about the effects that employing American military power can achieve," said retired Lt. Gen. Gregory S. Newbold, who served as director of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the run-up to the Iraq war.

Charles Taylor, the former president of Liberia, was convicted today of 11 counts of war crimes -- including terrorism, murder, rape, enslavement and child conscription -- during the 11-year civil war in Sierra Leone that killed an estimated 50,000 people. The verdict handed down by the United Nations-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone was the first against a former head of state by an international court since the Nuremberg trials.

The Pentagon's Quadrennial Defense Review supports two-war combat capacity for the military, an Army advisor said. Variables that could affect the strategy include the duration of conflicts and partnerships with allies. Eight additional plans for completing strategic planning will stem from the review. Military officials noted the report advocates shifting capabilities and growing new capabilities. Aerospace Industries Association President John Douglass said the military's needs today are similar to the needs it had during the Cold War.